"If you go back far enough in cookery, you realize that you are not an inventor, only a recreator." Michel Guerard

Monday, January 17, 2011

Kumquat Ketchup

Kumquat Ketchup was an idea that we had to accompany a Pork Belly Slider canape the other night. With the winter season in full effect, citrus fruits are looking pretty nice upon arrival in the kitchen each morning. We started with the basic core components of a ketchup which was: Fruit, Vinegar, Sugar. We decided to use some beautiful Kumquats that had just arrived as the featured fruit, the vinegar was a sweet rice wine, and a mixture of brown sugar, molasses, and honey were added to round out the sweetness. We started the sauce by sauteing some shallots, kumquats, and fresh thyme leaves together in a little olive oil (the kumquats were split in half with the piths and seeds removed). Next we added brown sugar, molasses, honey, Worcestershire, smoked paprika, grated ginger, and orange juice. All these ingredients were simmered for about two hours over low heat to really concentrate the flavors by reducing before finally blending smooth. The ketchup was chilled overnight and resulted in my favorite sauce of the year so far. It has the color of a ketchup, it's sweet and tangy from the vinegar, and the heat from the smoked paprika gives it a fun spice that lingers afterwards. We have been using the remaining sauce for everything such as turkey meatloaf glaze, lamb chops, duck breast, and even french fries,